


phobophobia

by phantasm_png



Category: Minecraft (Video Game), Video Blogging RPF
Genre: :), Alternate Universe, Cross-Posted on Wattpad, M/M, i dont think everyone is okay, save dream please
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-10-14
Updated: 2020-10-16
Packaged: 2021-03-08 22:07:55
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 4
Words: 6,533
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27014020
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/phantasm_png/pseuds/phantasm_png
Summary: ✎ -ˏˋ ❝ɪ ᴅᴏɴ'ᴛ ᴛʜɪɴᴋ ʟɪғᴇ ʟɪᴋᴇs ʏᴏᴜ ᴠᴇʀʏ ᴍᴜᴄʜ, ʙᴜᴅ.❞ˊˎ----in which dream is thrown into a nightmarish world where nothing is exactly the same; and he doesn't know what the hell is going on.he has only one thing on his mind: get out.
Relationships: Clay | Dream & Dave | Technoblade, Clay | Dream/Dave | Technoblade, GeorgeNotFound & Darryl Noveschosch & Sapnap
Comments: 16
Kudos: 183





	1. 𝐜𝐚𝐭𝐨𝐩𝐭𝐫𝐨𝐩𝐡𝐨𝐛𝐢𝐚

**Author's Note:**

> so beforehand notes: this is a dreamnoblade book, which is the ship between minecraft youtubers dreamwastaken and technoblade.  
> obvs ill only use online aliases, cuz using irl names is weirdchamp (unless theyve used it in their alias ofc)  
> also yes i am aware that techno said shipping is cringe but yet again, techno says practically *everything* is cringe. it is most certainly not a given for people to stop writing shit like this, and it wasnt back when skepnoblade was a thing. so yknow.  
> ah, yeah- this this is a slowburn book, so- you're not gonna get any sorta romantic shit in the first few chapters.  
> the chapter names will be based off different fears (hence the name of this book, phobophobia- a fear of fear itself); and feel free to make predictions on what's going on, 'cause this book's kinda focused on the mystery genre as well.
> 
> [ started: 10/14/2020 (october 14th, 2020) ]  
> [ ended: t.b.a. ]

—  
☞ 𝐜𝐚𝐭𝐨𝐩𝐭𝐫𝐨𝐩𝐡𝐨𝐛𝐢𝐚  
(ɴ.) The irrational fear of mirrors.  
_"My brother is catroptrophobic."  
_——————————————————

—| ⋄ . ¤ ۞ ¤ . ⋄ |—

"Wakey wakey!" _'No.. It's too early to get up,'_

"C'mon, Dream!" The voice beckoned for him, dripping with honeyed tones. The blond barely managed to open his eyes when he was yanked to his feet, green eyes meeting dark blues. His best friend of 7 years was standing in front of him, and Dream found himself wondering how the _fuck_ he got in. 

"We have to go meet up with George and Bad today, remember?" _'What- No we weren't, I don't have anything planned today.'_ "I'll leave you to change, okay?" Dream had half a mind to scream after him, 'The hell's gotten into you?' He didn't, though. The odd thing was, it felt like he couldn't talk properly.

'Weird..' Surveying the room, Dream noted that everything looked in place, with the exception of the catbed where Patches usually slept.

Wait-

Patches, where was Patches? The blond got to his feet, frantically looking over the room for any sign of his beloved pet. When he opened his mouth to yell her name, no sound came out. _'Where the fuck is my cat? Did Sapnap kidnap my cat or something?'_ No, no. His best friend wouldn't do that. Patches probably just- she probably just ran off again, she'd be back by tommorrow.

 _'But then why was her bed misplaced?'_ Ugh, he'd deal with it later. For now, he was just going to get dressed and go meet Sapnap downstairs. _'No you aren't, you're going to find out what the hell happened to your cat, you idiot!'_

Ignoring the annoying voice at the back of his head, Dream made his way into to the closet, lazily looking through some of the outfits before pulling on his typical green cropped hoodie and ripped jeans. "Should I wear a beanie or som-" The blond cut himself off when he noticed his reflection.

It wasn't him in the mirror.

Instead, there was a boy with pink hair and ruby red eyes, who widened his eyes and quickly put a finger to his lips when he saw Dream's shocked expression. "Don't scream!" _'As if you could if you tried.'_

"I know how it looks, but- here's the thing, I'm here to help, not to hurt you." Dream only gave a disbelieving look, seeing as his mouth still felt dry and definitely not able to speak. "Yeah, I know- It's probably hard to believe that this random non in the mirror _doesn't_ want to kill you, considering everyone else does, but-" 

"What do you mean, everyone wants to kill me?" His voice felt scratchy and sore, like it hadn't been used for a couple of years, but at least he could talk again. Instead of responding, the mirror boy put a hand up to his lips. 

"I'll explain later, when Sapnap's completely out of your house. For now, just carry a small makeup mirror or something with you." "I don't- I don't think I have one," Mirror Boy rolled his eyes at that. "Look on your dresser, nerd." A small eyeshadow palette had mysteriously materialized on his nightstand, one that was most definitely not there before.

"I- oookay then." Reaching for the small white palette, Dream opened it for a second; only to almost drop it. "What the heck-" "Don't drop it. I conjured that for a reason," The pink haired boy deadpanned. "You- you what?" In the full length mirror of Dream's closet, he could see the other giving a quick wave of the hand, as if to brush off what he'd just said. 

"I'll explain later. For now, you should hurry up and go meet with your psycho boyfriend." 

Before Dream could yell at him and tell him that Sapnap wasn't his boyfriend, a knock at the door sounded. "Dream? Are you ready?" "Y-yeah, just give me a bit longer!-" "Bad and George are waiting, should I go tell them to sit down and grab themselves a snack or something?" "That'd be fine, thanks!" Mirror Boy made a shooing motion with his hands, motioning downstairs. 

Instead of leaving, though, Dream shook his head. 'What's your name?' He mouthed at the pinkette, earning an amused smirk from the other boy. 'Nothing you need to know.' 'Just shut up and tell me!' 'Two things: One, if I shut up, you wouldn't be able to hear me. Two, we aren't even talking.' 'You know what I meant,' Dream mouthed again, turning his back for a moment to throw on his trusty mask. 

When he'd turned back, the mirror was foggy, and there was one word written on it. 

_' T E C H N O B L A D E . '_

"Your name's Technoblade?" Dream whispered, trying his best to look for any sign of the pinkette. "You would think that it was, otherwise I wouldn't tell you to call me it," Technoblade said in an apathetic voice. 

"Ah." 

There was an awkward silence between the two, before another angry knock sounded at the door, and Dream quickly got to his feet, shutting the closet door and leaving the room with Sapnap close to his side.

—| ⋄ |—

If you had asked Dream what the weirdest thing that had happened to date was only a day ago, he'd have said it was the fact that whenever he tweeted he got 100k+ likes within a second.

It would _not_ have been the fact that he met a random pink haired guy stuck in a mirror. (Those two things were _completely fucking different from each other and he was going to ignore both,_ thank you very much.) 

In any case, today was anything but normal.

"Baaaaad, Gogy's bullying me!" "I'm _not,_ Sapnap's just being a drama queen again!" "You muffins, be nice to each other!" The chatter of his friends would typically be calming and Dream would usually join in with them, but.. this time, all they did was scare him more. First off, his cat was gone. There was no denying it anymore, as much as he tried to convince himself that it hadn't happened.

Secondly, he'd met someone _stuck in a fucking mirror._ (Someone who'd told him that everyone was out to kill him, nonetheless.) How had it even seemed _slightly_ normal when it'd first happened? Who was to say that this wasn't just some sort of weird fever dream and he wasn't just high or something? That's right, nobody. 

"Dream? Are you okay?" _'Now Bad's worried about you, nice going.'_ "Uh- yeah, just spaced out for a second."

The other two didn't pay much attention to the both of them, instead just teasing each other and shoving one another here and there. Bad's expression clearly read that he didn't believe Dream's lie at all, but he merely sat back into his seat, lips pressed into a fine line. _'It wasn't really even a lie, to be honest. More of.. a half truth.'_

It didn't matter anyways, Dream thought. Standing up abruptly, he quickly excused himself from the table, using some shabby excuse of having to leave to the washroom. Once inside, he checked to make sure that the door was locked, then pulled out the small eyeshadow palette. "Techno?" The green eye reflected back at him blinked once, then shifted to the ruby red colour of the boy in the mirror. "That would be me, yes. What do you need?" "Uh- I just wanted to know, what did you mean about- everyone wanting to kill me back at my house?"

Here, Techno's expression grew somber. "You're out in public, I can't tell you right now." "What- but I need to know!-" "Not in an area where people can easily listen in and figure out what's going on. You don't want to be in even _more_ danger than you already are, obviously." As much as he hated to admit it, the pinkette had a point. 

"Okay, well- what do I do now then?" "You go back to your friends and pretend like everything's all fine and dandy. Cozy yourself up to them, you know? Make them think you trust them, when in reality all you want to do is run as fast as possible away from them." Techno paused, seemingly contemplating something. "Ah, yeah, and make sure to always have a mirror on hand. They'll help you figure out what's right and what's not."

Before he could ask what Techno had meant, someone was stepping into the washroom. "Dream? You in there or did you fall into the toilet shitting or something?" "Ah- yeah, I'm here- I just threw up, that's all." "Oh- dude, that's- do you wanna go home or something? I'll drive you there," Sapnap's voice reassured him.

"Uh- yeah, that'd be good." Then Dream mimed the puking noise again, and Sapnap immediately rushed out.

—| ⋄ . ¤ ۞ ¤ . ⋄ |—


	2. 𝐨𝐧𝐨𝐦𝐚𝐭𝐨𝐩𝐡𝐨𝐛𝐢𝐚

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> mirror guy strikes again!  
> also, sapnap n gogy dont like each other much.  
> dream is, as always, completely confused as to what the fuck is happening.  
> ( enter two specific small children- the root of all evil. well- maybe. who knows? certainly not dream. )

—  
☞ 𝐨𝐧𝐨𝐦𝐚𝐭𝐨𝐩𝐡𝐨𝐛𝐢𝐚  
(ɴ.) An irrational fear of names.  
_"Did you hear about that girl who left school last week? I heard she was onomatophobic!"_  
————————————————————————————————————————————

—| ⋄ . ¤ ۞ ¤ . ⋄ |—

After he'd gotten home, the first thing that Dream had done was flop into bed and immediately go to sleep, discussion with Technoblade forgotten. (He was tired, okay?)

In the morning though, for some reason, Dream woke up in front of a door. It wasn't even that impressive or anything, it was just a plain door. Nothing special or unique about it. _'So why are you here?'_ There had to be some reason for him waking up here, right? He wouldn't just- randomly spawn in some completely random place, would he? This wasn't Minecraft. It was real life. _'Explore around, see if you can find something?'_ And so he did.

There was only 3 notable things about the door: It was made of a particular shade of dark oak (Yes, he knew how to diffrentiate types of wood- it was something he'd picked up from years of binge playing Minecraft and just never stopping), with gold leaf bordering the edges; it had some sort of weird hieroglyphics writings on the sides- and yes, they were bordered with gold leaf- and last but not least, two small, pocket sized portraits of two people. They were old and worn, but he could just barely make out the blondish-yellow hair colouring for one of the people in the portraits, and dark brunet hair on the other. Turning the portraits over only provided him with 4 words- _Pr_ _operty of Big T._

"You weren't supposed to find those," A voice said, loud and yet soft at the same time. "I-" 

And before he knew it, he was being shaken awake by Sapnap, worried blue eyes staring into his own. "Are you okay, Dream? You were thrashing around in your sleep when I came in to wake you up," The younger clarified, looking away sheepishly. "Uh- yeah, I- I think I'm fine," Dream stuttered out, Sapnap sighing with relief when he heard. "Bad wants to know if you've been having nightmares." (Hah, ironic considering his name.) Seeing the look on Dream's face, Sapnap quickly backtracked. "Not that he doesn't think you're able to deal with them on your own or anything, he just- Bad just wants you to be safe, you know?" _'This is really unusual behaviour for Sapnap, you know.'_ Ignoring the small voice at the back of his head, Dream merely pressed his lips into a fine line, not responding.

"Yeah, that sounds about right," Dream finally relented, averting his eyes as he spoke. Was it just his imagination, or did Sapnap look.. oddly relieved? "Anyways, we'll be downstairs in the kitchen. Feel free to join us whenever, Bad's cooking right now." Sapnap said cheerfully, as if he hadn't just watched Dream screaming from a nightmare minutes prior. "Yeah, okay. I'll be there." Once Sapnap had left him alone, Dream rose up from the bed, immediately bolting towards the closet and throwing open the door to be met with the ever apathetic stare of the man of the mirror.

"Good morning, Techno," Dream greeted quietly, eyes flicking towards the door every few seconds. "Morning, nerd." "Why do you even use that word anyways? It's like, 1900s children's insults or something." "Well, what would _you_ use to describe people? Idiots? Dipshits? 'Nerds' is a good way for me to express that I dislike most of humanity while still maintaining a mostly neutral stance in society." Dream raised his eyebrows at the last part of what Techno had said. _'It's almost as if he was part of society before.'_ "Is there like some sort of mirror people civilization or something?" Techno's eyes widened at this comment, and Dream immediately felt guilty. "Wait- I'm sorry, I didn't mean for it to sound rude!-" Techno cut him off with a mere sigh and wave of the hand.

"Nah, we 'mirror people',-" and at this he made air quotations, "-as you so kindly put it, used to be like you, y'know. We were all cursed and shit though, and now we're all just stuck in here. There's no getting out," Techno sighed, closing his eyes and adjusting his sitting position. "Oh." There was an awkward silence in the air before Dream cleared his throat and brought up a question he'd been wanting to ask since yesterday, when Techno had first brought it up. "What did you mean by-" Techno merely gave him a side glance. "You were going to ask what I meant by me telling you yesterday that they all wanted to murder you, yeah?"

Dream gave an embarrassed nod (Was he really _that_ easy to read? No, surely not, right?), looking at the floor instead of at the pinkette. "Well- about that, I don't know too much of it myself, only that the person who told me formerly said that you were in a shit ton of danger, and then once I'd proceeded to blackmail them into telling me more, they said that you were a murder target." ..Well, that was quite disconcerting. "I- okaaaaay, _what?_ " Techno only gave a sigh and rubbed his eyes, as if he'd gone over this sort of thing dozens of times prior. "You have a target on your back, and I don't know much about it besides that I'm supposed to help protect you but you know, I'm stuck in a mirror so that probably won't be of much help." "Said like it was obvious," Dream grumbled softly, still refusing to meet the other's eyes.

"Whatever you say, nerd. You should probably get going before your friends start breaking down your door, by the way." Ah, right- he'd almost forgotten about that. "Riiight, I should be doing that, shouldn't I." Hoisting himself up from the floor, the freckled blond grabbed the first outfit that caught his eye and hastily threw it on, tidying his hair up and clipping on his trusty mask before grabbing the small makeup compact and leaving the room, closing the doors behind him. _'And now all you have to do is pretend like you don't know what the fuck is going on. Like that'd be easy.'_

—| ⋄ |—

"George, what the hell are you doing?" It was only midday, and yet Dream already felt like running back up to his room and falling asleep again. Sapnap and George were once again at each other's throats, and the only thing he wanted from the both of them was for them to _shut up_. It wasn't unusual for the two to bicker (After all, even the closest of friends argued at times. It was only natural.) but it seemed that now they were arguing a hell of a lot more. Then again, that could also have to do with what Techno had told him about how everyone wanted to murder him. _'What would they even have to argue about in that situation?_ _'_ Well, that he didn't know, but Techno might have the answers to. Dream made a mental note at the back of his mind to discuss that with the pinkette later on when he could talk to him.

" _BAD, HELP ME!_ " A loud shout from George brought his attention back to his 3 friends, all screaming and shouting at one another. "Stop fighting, you muffins!" "Not until George apologizes!" "What'd he even do to you, Snapmap?" The way he'd said it, it was supposed to be a joke, but Sapnap clearly hadn't taken it as one, by the look on his face. "It's nothing you need to know, Dream." Both Sapnap and George's expressions had grown stony cold by now, and both Dream and Bad decided to just leave the two alone together.

"You think they'll be alright?"  
"Well, I don't think they'll do anything _too_ harsh, if that's what you mean by being 'alright'."  
"That- is not very reassuring, Dream."  
"Yeah, well- it's the truth, I guess."  
"Mhm.. yeah, well- I'm gonna leave now, if that's alright with you?"  
"Uh- yeah, that's fine, I was gonna go take a nap anyways."

As Bad left, Dream could've sworn he saw a glimpse of _something_ gold flash from underneath the older male's hand. What it was, he didn't know, but he was confident that it hadn't been there earlier in the day, and Bad had never left his side- so _where had it come from?_

—| ⋄⋄ |—

A young blond teen stood in a room with three other people, all standing up save for the blond.

"I don't understand why we have to go through all this stupid ritual shit-"  
"You know it's the _rule,_ █████."  
"Okay, but who said I had to follow it, huh bitch?"  
"You are _not_ to speak to your superiors that way, ███████. Disrespect gets you nowhere."

The defiant boy crossed his arms and glared up at his 'superiors'. "And last I checked, I was one of the most feared entities known to man; so clearly I'm doing something right and you aren't." The other male merely scoffed and waved a hand in the air, as if to brush off the effect of the teen's words. "They're not exactly prime examples, are they? _Humans._ Tch. Bothersome, really." "And you're forgetting that ██████-" "Don't mention him. He doesn't have anything to do with this conversation." "Yes he does," Blondie grumbled. "You know yourself, he was one of us." "Keyword, █████: _was_. And you'll end up like him if you don't bother to follow the rules."

Clearly, Blondie wanted to argue, but he kept his mouth shut. The other two males in the room, upon noticing the tension between them decided to step in. "Alright, well- I think you're free to go now, █████. We've placed the last part necessary,-" at this Blondie scoffed, "-and you can go now." "Are you sure he's ready-" "Yes, ███. We've already been over this. █████'s more than proved himself." "Right then, does- does █████ go with me?" Blondie asked, fiddling with the leather satchel by his side. "Yeah, do I get to go with?" The slightly shorter brunet in the corner of the room piped up, deep blue eyes flashing a violent yellow as he spoke. The tall brunet previously arguing with Blondie exchanged looks with the slightly older looking man, both of them sighing as they turned back to the two teens. 

"As long as you guys don't stray from your mission, got it?" "Yes, ██████," The two recited. "Right then, I think you can go in that case," 

"Good luck, you two."

—| ⋄ . ¤ ۞ ¤ . ⋄ |—

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> its been like-- 15 hours and you guys are alr being super nice to me about this book im-- :sob: thank u guys sm!! <3


	3. 𝐚𝐩𝐡𝐞𝐧𝐩𝐡𝐨𝐬𝐦𝐩𝐡𝐨𝐛𝐢𝐚

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> dream finds himself in a forest, roped in with a week out with his 'best friends'! yayyy. wonderful. thrilling.  
> techno's still being helpful behind the scenes, i guess.  
> also, enter two small children! they're here to find someone we know and love :)

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> it is the day of the manberg festival and i would be lying if i said i wasnt scared shitless

—  
☞ 𝐚𝐩𝐡𝐞𝐧𝐩𝐡𝐨𝐬𝐦𝐩𝐡𝐨𝐛𝐢𝐚  
(ɴ.) An irrational fear of being touched.  
_"Don't touch him, he's aphenphosmphobic, idiot!"_  
—————————————————————————

—| ⋄ . ¤ ۞ ¤ . ⋄ |—

"Guys, I don't really know about this-"

"Nonsense, Dream! It'll be fun, treat it like a Muffinteers' week out- if that makes sense, of course. We only have a week with you here after all, might as well make the best of it," Bad smiled at him. _'Not particularly convincing-'_ "Uh, yeah, sure." _'What.'_ Sapnap glanced at the map he held in his hands. "Okay, well- the map says we have to go up on the-" He squinted. "The Phasmantal route." "Doesn't Phasmantal have something to do with ghosts or something?" "Uh, maybe? I don't know man, I'm not an English major." (Dream barely held back a snicker at this.) "As if you'd be able to major in anything," He joked, earning a glare from his best friend. "Whatever, _DwEaMy._ " Sapnap then proceeded to make a kissy face at the blond, who recoiled. "Yeaaah, fuck you too Snapmap." "No, ew!"

The two's joking banter was broken up by Bad, who had just returned from God knows where, panting. "So, I went to ask someone where we wanted to go to get to the forest trail, and- uh, the muffin told me that we had to go that way," Bad gestured to a small side route. Sapnap gave a side-eyed glance at the older man, then took another look at the map still in his hands. "That's not the Phasmantal route though. And the map says we have to go on the Phasmantal route." "The person told me that the maps left there were out of date," Bad explained, combing back his hair.

 _'Suspicious much?'_ "Ah, okay. Do you guys think I could like, take a quick bathroom break before we go or?" George perked up at this, "Yeah, I gotta go use the restroom as well, now that I think of it." "Okaaay, lovebirds. Whatever you say," Sapnap scoffed, once again turning to the map and then looking back at Bad. 

"Just make sure you muffins are back soon," Bad called after the two as Dream broke into a sprint and George followed him closely behind. _'I literally just want to lose him so I can talk to Techno and ask him about what the fuck is going on!'_ Looking back, George didn't seem to be making much of an effort to keep up. It was odd, really, considering that earlier that day, he had practically tailed him along with Sapnap, and the two just _wouldn't_ leave him alone, no matter how hard he tried to get away. Then again, maybe he was just tired or something- Dream ran quite fast, after all. Seeing the washroom in his sights, he sprinted forwards even faster, managing to get himself inside the one-room bathroom and locking the door after him.

George definitely wouldn't try to bang on the door for him or anything, but if what Techno said was true- and he had no reason to lie- then George was probably close behind. (Unless by "friends" Techno hadn't meant to include George, but he would've told him that _directly_ , wouldn't he?) In any case, the blond quickly removed the makeup palette from his pocket and flipped it open, being greeted with the familiar ruby-red eyes.

In the past few hours, he had been trying to sneak away from the pack as often as possible, and this allowed for quite a few opportunities to talk with the other male, who Dream had learnt was cursed by a bitter former friend to forever be condemned to a life trapped in the mirror. Techno had sparingly mentioned there being a way for him to escape, but had never brought it up more than once. (He'd refused to tell Dream how, which was- to be honest, somewhat sad. It was as if he'd come to learn that it was a virtually impossible situation, or something of that sort.)

It was an upsetting thing to think about, to say the least. Another thing that Techno had told him about was that by 'everyone wants to kill you', he'd meant his friends and some 'random nerds who will most likely be coming after your blood because they were ordered to'. 

Again, not a very happy thought.

Then again, there were always worse things. (You didn't get much worse than people all out for your blood, but there was always that 1%.) In any case, there was something that Techno had mentioned, that was very, _very_ important. 

_"Okay, dude- so you do remember what I said about there bein' a bunch of nerds out for your head, yeah?" "You did_ not _say it that intimidatingly, but yes." "I don't even think that's a word, but alright. In any case, you're going to wanna look down in your hand."_

 _A ring had appeared there, silver and gold embroidering it. "I- Uuuh, hey, at least take me out to dinner first!" It was his attempt at making a joke, but Techno didn't seem to appreciate it.  
"Yeah, no. That ring is fundamentally important to your safety. You'd be a fool to take it off." "What." "Basically, I _really _do not have enough time to explain all this shit to you, but-" Techno had stopped himself there, apparently trying to think of something to say next._

_"You know like Minecraft?" "Uh yeah, I speedrun it like 24/7. Or- I used to, that is." "Mm, yeah so you know how Piglins n' shit don't attack you if you have gold with ya?" "Yeah, but I don't- Oh. Is it like if I don't have gold or silver on me they'll attack me or something?" Techno gave him a satisfied smile. "Yep. You catch on quick, I like that 'bout you," He hummed._  
_"Thank you..?" "Yeah, no need to thank me-" He stopped. "You'd better close the compact and pretend like you weren't talkin' to yourself. By the way, loop that around a necklace or something- it'll make 'em less suspicious of you."_

And that was when George had materialized into the room (Not literally, but George was very quiet and Dream wasn't exactly the most attentive person on the planet, so he very well could have); saying something about Sapnap and Bad missing his presence and dragging him back to the other two. He doubted it, really, but it wasn't as if he could protest against it- what would he say, "A mirror guy tipped me off that you want to kill me, so I'm not going with you." Yeah, no. 

The pounding of a fist on the door brought his attention back to the present time, and he hurried to pretend as if he wasn't in the washroom for over 10 minutes. "Dude, I nearly pissed myself out there," George rolled his eyes at him as he staggered in, and Dream only snickered at him. (Playing with fire, for sure- but it was worth it, at least for the time being.) Funnily enough, George was seemingly _always_ the one interrupting him and Techno's talks. Yeah, Dream was starting to see a pattern here. He waited outside for a few minutes, still mulling over his situation in his head as George exited, and the two set off for their friends again.

Catching back up with Bad and Sapnap, the four continued with their 'tour' of the forest. They were going to be going to the city next, there was apparently some sort of festival that day- _wow, his luck was shit_ \- and the others wanted to take him to see it, justifying it with "We only have a week to spend with you, we'd better make the best of it!" He had very strongly wanted to resist, but.. again, he really didn't want to die. 

This was going to be a very, _very_ long day.

—| ⋄ |—

"Gods, Tubbo, don't tell me we're lost already!" "Tommy, if we go _east_ , we'll be going the right way! I've told you this over and over again!"

The two young teens were arguing again, it was the third time in four hours that they'd burst out into yelling. " _I DON'T KNOW WHICH WAY'S EAST, TUBBO!_ " Tubbo didn't respond, rolling his eyes and tugging his friend forwards with him. "We should just be sticking to our task, Tommy," He stated as if it were obvious. (It was, but Tommy wasn't always the best at concentrating on tasks.) "That'll be your job though, won't it? I'm only here to distract, you know," Tommy scoffed, grabbing ahold of his friend's arm and dragging the both down the paved street.

"We've entered the human's city," Tubbo breathed out, mesmerized by the beauty of his surroundings. Polished diorite accompanied granite slabs, scattered along the paved and polished sidewalks. The buildings that towered above both him and the cyan eyed teen next to him glinted in the afternoon sunlight, stained glass catching the rays of the sun.

"It's gorgeous," Tubbo said aloud, Tommy turning to him with a look of disbelief. "Tubbo, you know that's not what we're here for-" "I know, I know, but it looks really pretty and I just wanted to comment on it," The brunet apologized, combing through his hair to not reveal his horns to the public. "Yeaah, that- I get that, I guess," Tommy relented. "Here, come over- I'll make an illusion to hide them," Tommy said, much to the relief of the older boy. "Yeah- thanks, really. You're a lifesaver, Tommy," Tubbo replied, lightly smiling at the pride displayed on his friend's face when he'd praised him. 

"It's nothing," Tommy said, though there was definitely the hint of relief in his voice at the fact that his friend didn't think him a nuisance. "We should get going though, before the people around us start wondering why there's two children hiding in an alleyway," He muttered, Tubbo nodding assent and leading the both out of the small side crook. "Anyways- who are we supposed to be finding again?" "This weird guy with a mask or whatever," Tommy said scathingly, "He's supposed to have blond hair or something."  
Tubbo spared another glance at the small compass like device strapped to his wrist. "Oh! He's in the city right now!" "He's what?" Tommy raised an eyebrow. "You heard what I said," Tubbo nudged his friend, once again grabbing ahold of his hand and dragging him down along the street.

"You know, I think it'd be a lot nicer if this weird mask guy would just let us see him," Tommy said aloud, keeping pace with Tubbo. "I mean.. he doesn't _know_ that we're out looking for him, so.. I doubt he's avoiding us on purpose," Tubbo tried to reason with his friend. "Okay, well- it's still rude of him," Tommy insisted.  
Stubborn as always, Tubbo thought to himself. "Mhm, I guess," He glanced around the city warily, still keeping an eye out for the supposed masked male they'd be seeing soon enough. Another glance at his wrist confirmed that their target was steadily headed towards the both of them. "Wait- Tubbo, I think that I see him!" Tommy called in a hushed whisper, tugging the older boy's arm and readying himself to run. "No- don't run towards him, Tommy! He'll be alarmed," Tubbo hissed back in an equally soft voice, both of them having their hands holding the other.

Tommy looked in thought for a moment, then turned back towards his friend. "What about we approach him like we ran into him by accident?" Tubbo didn't mention that this had been his plan all along, and merely nodded in approval to his friend's idea. "Yeah, that sounds good." 

"Just wait, Dream. We'll be there soon enough."

—| ⋄ . ¤ ۞ ¤ . ⋄ |—


	4. 𝐦𝐧𝐞𝐦𝐨𝐩𝐡𝐨𝐛𝐢𝐚

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> backstory kinda
> 
> guess who each one is for  
> ( hint: theyre all part of the sbi )

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> lol im back  
> didya miss me?
> 
> i hope this chapt lives up to ur expectations lol i havent written in a WHILE besides writing essays n shit for class so ://  
> tw:: implied murder  
> [ pls dont read if ur not okay with that, just skip to the end and ill give a summary of it in the end notes ]

—  
☞ 𝐦𝐧𝐞𝐦𝐨𝐩𝐡𝐨𝐛𝐢𝐚  
(ɴ.) The irrational fear of one's past, or memories.  
_"I don't know anyone who's mnemophobic, that must be a cruel fate."_  
——————————————————————————————————

—| ⋄ . ¤ ۞ ¤ . ⋄ |—

The warm wind ruffled his hair, messing up the gelled hairstyle ever so slightly. "Mum? Where are we going?" The boy's mother spared a slight glance at her son, a sorrow filled expression crossing her face for just a moment. "Somewhere your father is taking us, darling." The young boy blinked once, then shook his head to clear it of the thoughts swarming around it. What did his father want to show them? Would they see something new and cool? "Mum, are we getting ice cream on the way back?" The long, blonde haired woman shot a slight smile at her son, lifting him up into her arms. "If your father allows it." 

The words were chosen carefully, in a way that such a young child would not be able to decipher the meaning behind it. But the mother knew, she knew exactly what they meant. "Almost there, love." The pair were nearing a small forest, the canopy of trees casting a shadowy path onto the hazardly made dirt road. "Where is this?" His mother did not answer, walking faster with her son still in her arms. "You'll see." The boy in her arms shifted uncomfortably, but didn't question it. A few more minutes had passed when they'd finally arrived in a small clearing, golden light shining through the leaves.

A small stand stood in the middle, red accents tainting the soil. A lit fire stood blazing in the centre. Oddly enough, it wasn't going out. "Mum-" "Shh, sh. It'll be over soon, I promise." The mother's hands shook as she placed her son in the circle, the young boy's eyes shining with a terrified expression. "M-Mum? What are you—" Her son's speech was cut off by the sharp blade, small splatters of red landing on the woman's white clothing. Hands still shaking, she fell to her knees. Clasping her hands together, she began to mutter a prayer.

"Lacta te in ignotis  
In pace et in furore extimuit  
Indue pulchritudo in te fac,  
Et modo ad animadverto vitae triumphi  
Hodie cunctis diebus, vide  
Quam maxime in periculo res sit amor"

And in the distance, the cry of a newborn demon echoed, blue fires flashing and the blood spilt flying into the air; as the woman was struck dead.

"Dearest a̵͓̳̘̐n̷̦̒̂͂̆̉͊͜͝ğ̴̨͔̙̰̣̦̳̟̔̾̏ͅḙ̸̋̏͂̅̿l̴̢̧̡̛̘̺̜͇̼͚̫͉̾̒̇͛́̐̍̍͆̕̚͘ of vengeance, take your revenge."

That day, the skies rained blood.

—| ⋄ |—

The chatter of the crowd made up for the chilly air of the autumn evening, the audience whispering amongst themselves as to what they thought the results of the performance is. "Ahem. Hello everyone, and welcome to the show," The smiling brunet greeted everyone, scarlet eyes glaring into the crowd. "Please settle down." And as the crowd quieted down, a clear voice rang through the air, breaking the silence. The crowd held its' breath as the lead performer sang, his voice projecting itself into the crowd. As he finished, the crowd cheered; flowers and chocolates being thrown at his feet. "Thank you, thank you everyone!" The singer beamed, warm brown eyes shining in the lights of the stage. 

As the singer made his way off the stage, someone tugged on his arm, the announcer pulling him back. "Wait. Before you go, come with me." "I- okay, I guess?" The singer looked at the older man warily, but followed him regardless. "Where are you taking me, Je—" "Right, uh- don't call me that," The other man mumbled. "Well then, what _do_ I call you?" "Just avoid using my name, yeah?" The singer rolled his eyes in exasperation, but complied nonetheless. "Whatever, but I'd still like to know where I'm going." "You'll find out soon enough, pretty boy." The brown eyed man raised an eyebrow, not commenting further on the nickname.

 _'Don't go backstage with him,'_ A voice beckoned. He brushed it off, still tailing the older man. "We're here," The scarlet eyed man smiled, a sinister expression on his face. "For what, exactly?" The room they were in was almost completely decked with white roses, the walls painted the same shade of white as the roses.

"This."

.  
.  
.

When the singer awoke again, the room was covered with red splotches. "Someone did a really bad paint job here," He mused to himself. Brushing his fluffy hair out of his eyes, he stood up from the floor (Why he was there, he didn't know, but he had probably fallen asleep there or something. Singing was terribly tiring, after all.) and began his trip to his supervisor's office. Opening the door cautiously, the singer came face to face with the scarlet eyed man. "Uh- hey?" The other man raised an eyebrow, giving him a puzzling look. "Did I fall asleep here overnight or something?" "Ah, yeah. I was actually going to come here to ask you about something.." "Well, what is it?"

"How would you like to be my partner?" At the revolted look on the singer's face, he quickly backtracked. "Not that way, I meant as in like- a business partner, if you would." The other male paused, thinking. 

"What do I get from it?"

A smile fell onto the older man's lips, making him look far more intimidating than he should.

"Y̴͖̾͊o̵̲͉͔̝͖̫͐̑u̷̡̳̥͉͕̯̽͆̌̎̓'̸̜̟̃l̷͕̻̍͋̒̉̓̕l̴̺̭͇̦̥̯̿̃̉̎͑̑̍͜͜ ̴̤̠̺̹͍͚͌͆̈͒ș̷̨͈̙̟̔̄̔̚͜e̶̢̳̣̮̦̘e̶̟̭͕̜̻͈͆̌̉̎̔ ̸̥̠̠̺̔̈́͝î̵̹̳͍̣̆͌̿͜͝n̵͍̗̏̆̋̇̄͐̕ ̸̛͖̭́̅d̵̡̰̊̈́̀̓̽̈͝u̵̻̮͈͉̔͒̐̍̒͜e̶͓̻̟̟̘͐͒̍̃̋ ̷̡͙̖̰͖͖̘̠̆̈́͗̚t̶̲̬͑̈̑̍͒͊i̴̘̜͂̀͂m̷̮͙͈̜͇̓̂̇̆e̴̤̗̓.̶̗̰̠̰̰̮̋͊̆͋̕"

—| ⋄⋄ |—

The shards of the mirror pierced into the pink haired male's hand, making him wince. It was, what, the 10th year he'd been stuck in here? He hadn't cared much for keeping the time, after all. It only made him more bitter, and when he got bitter, he destroyed things. Hence the puddles of blood all around him, broken glass shards carpeting the floor of his cage. 

It wasn't fair, it really wasn't. He didn't deserve to be the one stuck in here while the others roamed free. Gritting his teeth, the pinkette punched the floor again. It made an echoing sound, only reinforcing the fact that he was stuck in here, with no way out. There was no use trying to get out, he knew that very well. But he still tried regardless- after all, it was an infuriating thing, being trapped in one small, tiny area.

Now, he wouldn't say he was claustrophobic. But the tight space that he was in made him want to get the fuck out of there, and _fast_. But it wouldn't be fast, he knew that. He had been here for over 10 years, after all. Nobody really bothered to check up on him in here. He wouldn't blame his friends though, they didn't know what had happened to him.

In any case, the only real fun he had nowadays was terrifying passersby. The only good thing about being trapped in a mirror was that, surprisingly it was connected to just about every other mirror in the world. And considering he had access to virtually every other mirror, well..  
It made scaring random people far too easy.

It was a normal day when the piece of paper had fluttered down from the ceiling, a stark contrast to the reflective surface of all the broken shards of glass that he had racked up over the years.

Grabbing at the paper, _clawing_ at it, the pinkette's eyes scanned the ink-blotted parchment. (It was in Latin. Thank the gods that his parents had taught him to read Latin.)

'Non est quod velis cognoscere.  
Factum per errorem non fuisse seniorem deos et finita est teenager cum innocentes sint .. bene, eo quod non esset melius terminum, et abduxit in nostras sedes efferantur.  
Ego pose a provocatione tibi. Si potestis ducere hunc puer masculus de spe, liberabo vos a vobis auxilium. Si fallatis officium bene...  
Apprehendite disciplinam forte tuae libertatem vale.  
In quolibet casu non est opus ut Respondeo. Cum autem eo macula, vos iustus satus auxilium eo.  
Bonus fortuna.'

His eyes widened at what the parchment had stated.

_'I will free you.'_

There was no question to what his answer was to be.

"Dream, huh? Gods, I hope he's not mindless."

—| ⋄ . ¤ ۞ ¤ . ⋄ |—

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> i used google translate for the latin speech so AAA sorry if its wrong!! ''  
> \--  
> summary:  
> first flashback; a mother leads her son into the forest and kills him, then starts chanting in latin and in the distance, a demon is born  
> second flashback; a singer is killed offstage; then is resurructed and invited to work with his killer.  
> third flashback; lol mirror time  
> \--  
> latin translations:  
> -{ throw yourself into the unknown  
> with pace and a fury defiant  
> clothe yourself in beauty untold  
> and see life as a means to a triumph  
> today of all days, see  
> how the most dangerous thing is to love }  
> (lyrics from achilles come down by gang of youths)
> 
> -{There's something you may want to know.  
> There was a mistake made by the elder gods, and it ended up with an innocent teenager being.. well, for lack of a better term, abducted into our world.  
> I pose a challenge for you. If you are able to lead this young male out safely, I will free you from your predicament. If you fail, well..  
> Kiss any chance of your freedom goodbye.  
> In any case, there is no need for you to respond. Once you spot him, you just start helping him.  
> Good luck.


End file.
